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D86. 9, 1930. C, LANDER 1,784,454

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Fileq Aug. 9. 1927 Patented Dec. 9, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECLARENCE I. LANDEB, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITEDSHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F.NEW

JERSEY LAST Application led August 9, 1927. Serial No. 211,823.

This invention relates to the art of making shoes and articularly tolasts. y

It is desirable, in the manufacture of shoes such as womens light andstylish shoes made by welt and McKay methods in imitation of turn shoesaswell as in turn shoes themselves, to provide a close edge about theforepart and shank, that is, to bring the projecting portion of thesole, or the sole and welt in welt shoes, into close relation to theupper. This is particularly important in welt shoes inA order that theoutsole stitches may be hidden and is peculiarly diflcult in welt workbecause of the bulky character of the inseam, that is, the inseamstitches and the stitch holding portions of the welt, upper and 1nsole,in thetrimming of which seam suilicient material must be left to affordadequate anchorage for the stitches.

In leveling the foreparts of welt shoes upon .lasts of usualconstruction, the bottoms of which have a convexity or camber, thetendency of the leveling pressure is to force the material of the insoleoutwardly. This tendency causes not only loosening of the lastingtension of the upper but also is-directly op posed to the formation of aclose edge, since outward movement of the inseam, due to the levelinpressure thereon, tends to open the crease tween the upper and the sole.

Moreover, the bulk of the inseam 1n proportion tothe bottomingmaterials, particularly in light shoes, is such that the levelingpressure is taken mainly by the inseam an adequate pressure cannot beobtained on the marginal portion of the shoe bottom to produce thedesired shaping effects, including a close edge.

Objects of this inventionare to provide a last by the use of which inthe leveling operation, the above described difficulties. may beovercome.

With these objects in view, features of the invention consist in a lastthe bottom of which has, at the margin thereof, a shallow groove orindented area sub-adjacent to the location of the inseam. Theillustrated groove is dee est along the line of the inseam and exten stothe extreme edge of the last bottom, becoming shallower as the edge isapproached so thatthe margin of the last bottom has a. downward andinward inclination. As illust-rated, the portion of the last bottominside the grooved or indented margin is unchanged and affords the usualsupport for the central portion of the insole.

In the drawing, Y

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a last embodyingr the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section showing the forepart of a shoe made onthe last of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the shink of a shoe made on thelast of Fig. 1; an

Fig. 4 is a transverse section throu h a shoe made on a last havin atthe shank t e structure shown in the orepart of Fig. 1 and showing theoperation of a leveling tool upon the shoe.

In the last of Fig. 1 the body portion 10 and the heel-seat portion,including the heel plate 12, are of usual construction. The bottom ofthe forepart -is formed with a shallow peripheral groove 14 extendingaround the orepart from the ball line to the ball line. The groove 14extends to the extreme peripheral edge 16 of the last bottom and is ofsuicient width to underlie the region of the inseam 18 of a shoe (Fig.2), the central portion of the forepart being of usual formation havinga transverse and longitudinal camber or convexity. The depth of thegroove 14 is slight but suicient to relieve the pressure of a levelinginstrument on the inseam 18 and to concentrate the pressure at theperipheral edge 16 of the last bottom upon the edge of the insole 20,the ovei'lasted upper 22, the welt 24 and the margin of the outsole 26to force them closely together and close the crease 28 between the upperand welt, or margin of the sole if the shoe has no welt. The formationof the groove 14 provides on the margin of the last bottom a surface 30directed inwardly and toward the body of the last against which the shoebottoming materials outside the inseam 18 are pressed and by reason ofwhich the leveling pressure` which is applied perpendicularly to theplane of the shoe bottom, is given an inwardly directed component whichcauses the inseam to be displaced inwardly of the shoe, with aconsequent tendency to tighten the lasted upper over the last and toclose the welt crease 28.

The groove 14 may, as illustrated in Fig. 4, extend along the shank laswell as about the forepart, theA groove in that case extending about theperipheral margin of the last bottom from breast line to breast line.The inner edge of the groove 14 merges into the central cambered surfaceof the last bottom without any perceptible line of demarcation. Theapplication of an obliquely arranged leveling instrument 32 to the shankportion of a shoe on the last illustrated in Fig. 4 will, by itspressure applied downwardly to the margin of the sole, not only closethe welt crease but will, by reason of the grooved surface of the last,tend to force the inseam inwardly. At the same time, the groove relievesthe pressure upon the inseam so that thel inseam does not oierobjectionable resistance to the action of the roll.

Under some conditions, however, it is desirable to have the grooveextend about the forepart only and at the shank to provide a recess 34with outer walls 36 extending heightwise of the last, the recessextending entirely across the shank portion of the last and having a4width sufiicient to receive the shank portion of the insole, asillustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. The depth of the recess 34- may be equalto the thickness of the insole or may be less than or greater than theinsole thickness. This form of the shank portion of the last enables theleveling pressure to be applied to the outsole, welt and upper betweenthe leveling instrument and the rigid surface of the last outside therecessed portion of the shank. Thus, the last provides a firmer supportfor the upper than is-.af forded by the margin of the insole againstwhich the leveling pressure would be applied if the last were of theusual construction. The result is a close shank which will remain closeduring the wear of the shoe.

The last of the present invention provides a convenient and effectivemeans for making from the last a complete and accurate pattern for theinsole to be used on the particular last. To make a pattern from thelast it -is only necessary to cover the last Ibot-tom with a piece ofpaper and to press .sole is provided which indicates the proper size andshape of the insole which shouldV be used upon the last. This paper'pattern may beA used in laying out the usual pattern of metal orcardboar The method of leveling a shoe on the llus- 1 trated lastpreferably consists in supporting the extreme edge portion of theinsole, which is effected by the edge 16 of the last bottom,

the outsole and welt against the supported edge of the insole, .whichoperatigiiis performed, for example', by the relativetraverse of theshoe and a levelinginstrument, such as a roll, longitudinally of theshoe bottom while applying pressure heightwise 'of the last. In thismethod the inward and heightwise inclination of the margin of the lastbottom formed by the outer portion of the groove 14 is utilized to causethe leveling pressure to force inwardly the inseam and consequently totighten the upper and close the welt crease.

A shoe leveled by the present method, when removed from the last, has asubstantially flat interior surface on the insole. The ridge whichtheoretically would be formed by the groove 14 is of barely sufficientprominence to be evident to the sight or to the touch.A The Y outwardlycurved portion 'of the ma gin of the insole is outside the area ofContact of the foot with the insole, and this formation of the margintends materially to prevent the margin of the insole from curlingupwardly and causing discomfort to the foot, as it occasionally does inwelt shoes made-on the usual last. The method of leveling a shoedisclosed above is not claimed herein since it is claimed in mycopending divisional application Serial No. 431,800 filed Feb. 27, 1930.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desiretosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A last for shoes having in the margin of its bottom surface a shallowgroove one sideA breast line on one side 'of the shank along the l shankto the forepart and along the shank to g the breast line on the otherside.

2. A last for Shoeshaving a groove extending about the periphery of theforepart, the

groove sloping from the edge of the last bottom inwardly and toward thebody of the last and. being deepest along a line located bepeath theinseam of a shoe placed upon the 3. A last for shoes having the marginof the forepart inclined inwardly and toward the body of the lastto-cause the leveling pressure to force the inseam inwardly, the centralportion of the last bottom having the usual formation.

4. A last for welt shoes having the forepart formed to concentrate theleveling pressure along a line at the extreme edge of the insole and torelieve pressure on the inseam.

5. A last for welt shoes having the forepart formed to concentrate theleveling pressure along` a line at the extreme edge of the insole and torelieve pressure on the inseam, the shank portion of the last having arecess to receive the shank portion of the insole.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CLARENCE I. LANDER.

